Film criticism as a field of political dispute in Uruguay: the repercussion of the documentary Elecciones (Mario Handler / Ugo Ulive, 1967).

Abstract

We analyze the production and the impact of the Uruguayan documentary Eleccione (Mario Handler/Hugo Ulive, 1967) at the weekly newspaper Marcha. This journal played an important role as agent of leftist cultural policy, in a context of increasing authoritarianism. We demonstrated that the controversy on the documentary triggered a series of debates and criticism in the press that extrapolated the cinema universe, and shifting the crucial role of the Marcha in the cultural scene. The film Elecciones is an important historical source for understanding the political dilemmas and debates in that moment. He revealed the impasse experienced by the staff of the newspaper, from the unconditional defense of democracy and the lack of trust in institutional channels as real possibility to overcome the political crisis in the Uruguay.